With a wedding to plan it can be very easy to overlook something of mega-importance for the honeymoon. This article takes a closer look at honeymoon passports and visas and provides advice on how, and when, to get hold of them.

Passports and visas granted are dull subjects, especially in the exciting world of honeymoons, but if you don’t give them your full attention right now you may live to regret it later.

In order to prevent a nightmare situation from occurring, we have pulled together some basic travel information and advice that you really should pay attention to and is well worth a read. So if you want to look back at your honeymoon with fond memories rather than disappointment, get reading...

Passports

Assuming that you are planning to travel overseas for all or part of your honeymoon, then both partners will require a valid passportregardless or where in the world they come from or are travelling to.

Rules and regulations vary from country to country but on the whole they are boradly the same. For couples from the UK, each partner will fall into one of two categories:

For any newlywed where the marriage will not result in a name change, the process is pretty straightforward.

At present, it is simply a matter of making sure that your current passport is valid and will remain so for 6 months after the beginning of your honeymoon. Certain destinations simply require a passport to be valid for the duration of your stay, but many countries these days are asking for the 6 month element. If you are planning to travel to more than one destination, or somewhere far from the beaten track, then the best advice would be to seek guidance from a travel agent, the foreign embassy of the country you are travelling to or the UK Passport Service.

For any partner where the marriage results in a change of name, a new/replacement passport will need to be issued using the new personal details.

At present in the UK this can be done up to three months before the date of the wedding by submitting the relevant forms (available online or from your local Post Office), the fee, a notice of intention to marry signed by your registrar/vicar and any current passport to the UK Passport Service. A new post-dated passport will be issued in due course and will be valid from the date of the wedding.

Perhaps the most important point to note here is that no overseas travel is possible during the time you apply for your honeymoon passportand the date of your marriage.